Ukraine tells Hungary: suspension of Lukoil transit is not ‘blackmail’

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KYIV (Reuters) – Ukraine’s decision to suspend the transit of oil from Russian group Lukoil to Hungary and Slovakia was in accordance with Kyiv’s sanctions against the company and nothing to do with blackmail, Ukrainian presidential aide Mykhailo Podolyak told Reuters on Friday, rejecting a Hungarian statement.

Kyiv last month adopted sanctions blocking the transit of Russian crude through the Druzhba pipeline, sparking fears of supply shortages in Hungary and Slovakia.

On Monday, Hungary and Slovakia took their complaint to the European Commission, asking it to use an association agreement which they said meant Ukraine could not block oil transit.

An aide to Hungary’s prime minister on Friday accused Ukraine of blackmailing Hungary and Slovakia by halting oil deliveries.

“The situation with the suspension of Russian oil transit through the Druzhba pipeline to Hungary and Slovakia has nothing to do with blackmail in the Ukrainian version,” Podolyak said in a written comment.

“And certainly Hungary and Slovakia do not stand up as actual peacekeepers and do not insist on peace and justice, but insist solely on concessions to Russia,” he noted.

Podolyak accused the neighbouring countries of going “against the line” of the European Union, which has supported Kyiv in its war with Russia, and recommended they urge the Kremlin to stop attacking Ukrainian energy and transit channels.

The Ukrainian energy sector has been under constant Russian missile and drone attacks for months and has lost half of its generating capacity, which has led to massive outages throughout the country.